Pau Gasol had 23 points and 18 rebounds, and Jason Williams scored eight points in the last three minutes to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to their fifth straight win, 94-88 over the Toronto Raptors.
Stromile Swift added 18 points Sunday for the Grizzlies, who are looking for their first playoff berth in the franchise's nine-year history.
"It just feels good to be on a winning team," said Swift, who is the only player remaining from the Vancouver era. "This is my fourth year. In Vancouver we didn't win many games."
PHOTO: REUTERS
Memphis improved to 47-26, good enough for fifth place in the Western Conference.
"It's a great turnaround for the franchise," Gasol said. "We've surprised ourselves. I can't believe where we are at this point. It's just wonderful."
Vince Carter scored 16 points on 6-for-22 shooting as Toronto lost its fourth straight and dropped to 12th place in the Eastern Conference.
Mavericks 118, Magic 88
In Orlando, Florida, Dirk Nowitzki's 25 points and nine rebounds led the Dallas Mavericks over the Magic, who were without Tracy McGrady and have lost eight straight games.
Nowitzki led six players in double-figure scoring as the Mavs snapped a three-game losing streak.
Rookie Josh Howard had a season high-tying 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists before fouling out, while Steve Nash added 12 points and 11 assists.
Antawn Jamison had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Marquis Daniels had 20 points and seven assists. Antoine Walker added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Rockets 111, Bucks 107 OT
In Milwaukee, Yao Ming finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks, and the Rockets overcame a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime 111-107.
Steve Francis finished wit 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Maurice Taylor and Cuttino Mobley each added 19 points for Houston.
Michael Redd had 36 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for the Bucks while Joe Smith scored a season-high 25 points. Milwaukee was without Keith Van Horn, who sprained his left ankle and bruised his left calf Friday against Chicago.
Pacers 87, Heat 80
In Indianapolis, Jermaine O'Neal had 23 points and 14 rebounds, bouncing back from injury to lead the Indiana Pacers over the Miami Heat 87-80.
Ron Artest added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers despite having to leave the game briefly with a sprained right ankle.
Caron Butler, Eddie Jones and Dwyane Wade each scored 14 points to lead the Heat, which snapped a seven-game winning streak and drops to a game and a half behind Milwaukee for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Celtics 89, 76ers 65
In Boston, Philadelphia set franchise records for fewest points in a half and in three quarters in a 89-65 loss to the Boston Celtics.
Another sign of Philadelphia's futility: it missed 65 shots while Boston took only 77.
The Celtics were led by Mark Blount, Ricky Davis and Jiri Welsch with 13 points each.
Kenny Thomas had 18 points for Philadelphia, which was playing without Allen Iverson for the fifth straight game. Kyle Korver added 15.
Kings 100, Wizards 92
In Sacramento, California, Peja Stojakovic had 29 points and 11 rebounds, helping the Kings snap a two-game losing streak with a 100-92 win over Washington Wizards.
Chris Webber made four straight free throws in the final 41 seconds to hold off the Wizards. He finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Mike Bibby scored 21 points and had seven assists, while Doug Christie added 14 points for Sacramento.
Gilbert Arenas scored 27 points, on 7-of-22 shooting for Washington, which has lost nine of 11. Larry Hughes added 18.
Warriors 105, Clippers 77
In Oakland, California, Erick Dampier had 16 points and a career-high 25 rebounds to lead Golden State's victory against the L.A. Clippers 105-77, the Warriers' seventh straight win.
The seven-game winning streak is the Warriors longest since April 1994, when they won eight in a row.
Jason Richardson scored 20 points and rookie guard Mickael Pietrus added 17 as the Warriors handed the Clippers their eighth straight loss.
Lakers 91, Jazz 84
In Los Angeles, Karl Malone, playing against his former team for the first time, had 19 points and 13 rebounds to help the Lakers beat Utah for their eighth straight victory.
Playing his ninth game since being sidelined nearly three months with a torn knee ligament -- the first serious injury of his 19-year NBA career -- Malone shot 5-of-10 and 9-of-12 from the foul line.
Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 34 points in the last two minutes; Gary Payton added 17 points, and Shaquille O'Neal had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have an NBA-best 19-4 record since the All-Star break and trail Western Conference-leading Sacramento by two games with nine remaining.
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